Huge ledger book labeled on the spine, "Fee Book, Criminal, 18, Will County," measuring 12.75 x 18.5 x 3.5, recording the arrests of Al Capone, his brother Ralph, and members of their gang in Joliet, Illinois, in December 1927. The alphabetical listing in the front records the entries for "Capone, Alphonse et al" and "Capone, Ralph et al" on page 231. On that page, the fees are documented in the case of "The People of the State of Illinois v. Alphonse Capone, Frank Lama, Mike Spenze, James Castor, Ralph Capone, Albert Roso, Thomas Bell," who were arrested on charges of "Carrying Concealed Weapons." The defendants paid fines and fees totaling $1589.80 on December 22, 1927. In overall fine condition, with heavy wear to the covers and partial separation to the spine; some interior pages are creased or stained, but the Capone-related pages are clean and unaffected.
At this time, Capone was returning to Chicago after being kicked out of Los Angeles during a brief visit. Increasingly security-conscious and desirous of getting out of Chicago, it seems that he went west in search of a new place to live; in 1928, he turned his sights to Miami where he bought a home. On December 16th, awaiting his arrival at Joliet Union Station were his brother, Ralph Capone, and other armed henchmen, whose 'bulges in their pockets aroused suspicion.' The police found concealed weapons on the men and promptly arrested them, taking their leader into custody when he arrived on the inbound train. According to the Chicago Tribune: 'In court on Dec. 22, charges were dropped against two men, but Capone and four others pleaded guilty. The judge assessed fines totaling about $2,600 and also lectured Capone. 'I hope this will be a lesson to you,' the judge said. 'It certainly will be a lesson not to carry guns in Joliet, I'll say that,' Capone told reporters. The gangsters then paid the fines. Capone handed some fresh $1,000 bills to a clerk and refused to accept the change. 'I wish you'd have someone take it across the street and give it to that Santa,' Capone said, moments before his party left for Chicago.
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